SkyEverybody touch the SkyEverybody touch the skyWith your feet Move to the beatCome down to mirthFor all that it's worth

High Love's the highest peak in the SkyLove's the highest peakFor Jean-Claude LouiseWeak in the kneesLosing oxygen Love comes again

Jean-Claude Louise will never be the same wayJean-Claude Louise will never be the sameJean-Claude Louise will never be the same wayJean-Claude Louise will never be Never be the same wayNever be the same way

HighYou can see him getting High He's starting to caress her thighHe's a cheatHeart starts to beatCries out for moreFour on the floor

Jean-Claude Louise will never be the same wayJean-Claude Louise will never be the sameJean-Claude Louise will never be the same wayJean-Claude Louise will never be Never be the same wayNever be the same way

Jean-Claude Louise will never be the same wayJean-Claude Louise will never be the sameJean-Claude Louise will never be the same wayJean-Claude Louise will never be Never be the same wayNever be the same way

Jean-Claude Louise Jean-Claude LouiseJean-Claude Louise

___________________________________

Thanks to radio stations (particularly KALX

and Marshall "Hussein" Stax!) who have played

my new song "Love's the Heaven You Can't Reach."

* * * *

I've just released 2 brand new songs (8/25/08) that I wrote

and recorded last week. Here's the cover (lyrics are below):

If you'd like a copy, email me at pliorio@aol.com!

By the way, many thanks to radio stations

(particularly KALX) that played my previous song,

"Late October Chimney Smoke."

A few people have asked me about "Late October

Chimney Smoke" and how it evolved, so here's the scoop:

The title I had for around a year before

I did anything with it. And then, on a

fall-like summer day last June, as I walked

along a tree-lined street with a couple

chimneys going, the melody of the chorus

started coming to me, except the lyric

was taking a much darker turn than I

thought it would. I put the whole song aside

for a time. Then I heard Feist perform in

Berkeley in July, and afterwards I remember

thinking her voice must be one of the most

beautiful sounds on the planet, and when I

got home, the rest of the song just tumbled out.

And I wrote a final verse that changes the

meaning of everything before it. And

that's how the song came to be!

* * *

Also, here are some notes on two of my other

new songs:

LOVE'S THE HEAVEN YOU CAN'T REACH:In early August, 2008, I had a generalized

shape of this song roiling inside my head. It

was like a hurricane that hadn't yet formed,

a sprawling, stop-start thing

halfway between "Black Dog" and "The Message,"

or "Black Dog" re-imagined as folk-rap,

with deliberately long and unwieldy lines

that slowly, over the first week of August,

I trimmed and shaped and tailored to the melody

and structure of the song, while still retaining

its purposely messy quality. I wanted a vocal

that was equal parts Allen Ginsberg and Melle Mel

and a guitar riff that was sort of Pageish.

Lyric is about my belief that we fall in

love with those who are just out of reach,

probably because they are just out of reach,

and (absent first-hand contact with the person)

we tend to imagine that she (or he) is heaven.

This one took awhile to self-produce.

Recorded my first version on August 4,

tried again on August 10, again on August 17,

and finally nailed it on August 19.

* * *

THREE MINUTE SONG: In early August, 2008, I was listening

to some Dionne Warwick and was suddenly

seized by a melody of my own that was just

irresistible to me, and I hummed it for a

few days without having any words to go

with it. I decided to put that melody

to a lyric idea I'd had for years,

"Three Minute Song," a song that is exactly

3 minutes long because the narrator meets

his fate at the end of it. It quickly

became the story of a guy on death row

who'd just been given his final injection.

Because I wanted a distant, sort of martial

drum beat in the background, I put the microphones

far away from my drumming (which is how I mix

-- by mike placement!). Final version

recorded 8/22/08.

* * *

OK, here're the lyrics of that brand new song I mentioned:

LOVE'S THE HEAVEN YOU CAN'T REACHMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2008

I made that decision in a better head, so I'm not gonna go back and change it now

I've never had a relationship that's lasted past what rivals say about me to her

Hey, they're not looking after your interests; they're just trying to split us apart

Look, you're not being cool about this at all

Love's the heaven you can't reachLove's the heaven you can't reachI can't reach itIt must be loveLove's the heaven you can't reach

Yeah, we were drunk, took turns reciting lines from "Howl" from memory at that party

She's 30 but tells everyone she's 18 in base eight

She's just bursting with imagery these days; it's like she's got syph or TB or something

She's living in a hole; the pilot light has gone from blue to yellow (you can almost see the CO in the air)

Love's the heaven you can't reachLove's the heaven you can't reachI can't reach itIt must be loveLove's the heaven you can't reach

I told her to put the broccoli in the frig -- she wasted some primo broccoli, man

I'm confident around the women I don't want but a dork around the women I do

Love's like a cat trying to fly to catch a bird

Love's the heaven you can't reachLove's the heaven you can't reachI can't reach itIt must be loveLove's the heaven you can't reach

Love's the heaven you can't reachLove's the heaven you can't reachI can't reach itIt must be love

I can't reach itIt must be love

I can't reach itIt must be love

I can't reach itIt must be love

I can't reach itIt must be love

Vocals, guitar, drums: Paul Iorioto be released later this month (August)

---------------------

Here're the lyrics of "Three Minute Song,"

(which is exactly 3 minutes long!):

THREE MINUTE SONGMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2008

By the end of this 3-minute song I'll be a goner At least that's what I heard the doctor and the warden say I'm strapped to a gurney and I really want some waterDying for a crime I never did, no way

Convicted of a murder that I never even heard of They phonied up some stuff to make it look like it was meI wasn't even in the state that bloody night at Nirva The D.A. rode the case to fame politically

Sailing like a bird inside my mindFreedom's just a dream awayRan out of loved ones so long agoThey're graves

They found a vein and now the sodium is getting strongerI'm fading fast and soon I won't be feeling any pain

Sailing like a bird inside my mind Freedom's just a dream awayRan out of loved ones so long agoThey're graves

Sailing like a bird inside my mind Freedom's just a dream awayRan out of

I wrote a new song on Friday (7/19/08) and released it today (7/21). It's called "Late October Chimney Smoke," and here are lyrics:

LATE OCTOBER CHIMNEY SMOKEMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2008

I smell late October chimney smokeI smell late October chimney smoke

Trees look like explosionsIt's as brisk as the ocean

I smell late October chimney smokeI smell late October chimney smoke

The way that you areThe way that you areWhen summer turns to fallThe way that you areWhen summer turns to fallThe way that you are

Orange leaves in the airHarvest everywhere

Candlelight shouldLight up the burning wood

The way that you areThe way that you areWhen summer turns to fallThe way that you are

Slanted sunlight on the cityscape, just like a Matisse

It's getting darker much earlier than everIn more ways than you see

I smell late October chimney smokeI smell late October chimney smoke

The way that you areThe way that you areWhen summer turns to fallThe way that you are

Here in BerlinEvil smell in the wind

Smoke's not like beforeIt's 1944

The way that you areWhen people take a fall The way that you are

I used to love the smell of autumn, now it makes me grayThe smoke that's coming from the chimney is alarmingAnd I don't wnat to stay

Some date from earlier this year. As I wrote the new ones, I released them one by one to various radio stations, which, much to my pleasant surprise, played some of 'em Stuff like "Besides" and "Sexually Insane" and "You Won't Be Burying Me Now" and others are of 2008 vintage.

WEREN'T MANY TRACKS ALSO ON YOUR PREVIOUS ALBUM "ABOUT MYSELF"?

Not these versions. Every song on "75 Songs" was recorded between August 2007 and June 2008.

"75 SONGS" IS YOUR THIRD SELF-RELEASED ALBUM?

Yes. The first two were "About Myself" and "Lime Green Celery" (aka "Make a Noise!"), both of which are no longer in circulation.

WHY HAVE THE FIRST TWO ALBUMS BEEN DISCONTINUED?

Because I didn't like the production on either. It was my fault completely. I didn't know how to use the digital recording equipment on the "Lime Green"/"Make a Noise" sessions, and the "About Myself" sessions were way, way too rushed.

A lot of the songs on "About Myself" have never had a fair hearing anywhere, because they were badly produced. That's why I've re-recorded them for "75 Songs."

ARE ALL THE 75 SONGS YOUR OWN OR ARE SOME COVERS?

I wrote every word and every note of all 75 songs.Except the melody of "You Won't Be Burying Me Now," which is a traditional folk tune put to my lyrics. I was responsible for everything from the big picture conceptof each song to the small picture production details.

I KNOW THE "ABOUT MYSELF" ALBUM IS NOW DEFUNCT. BUT, FOR THE RECORD, WHAT WAS BILL EPPS' ROLE ON THAT ALBUM?

He was the producer and funded the sessions for "About Myself." At those sessions, in 2005, he made a few minor production suggestions that have since been deleted (and he overdubbed a bass track in post-production, also now deleted). I think he still has a video of those 2005sessions, so you can actually see him suggesting a couple production ideas (e.g., "slightly faster," etc.) that have now been discarded.

Bill didn't come aboard the "About Myself"project until months after I had already released thealbum on cassette tape in early 2004.

Anyway, that's all academic now that "About Myself" has been discontinued.

HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN WITH BILL?

No, I've never written with Bill. (Unless you want to count a jokey song we wrote when wewere kids, in 1975, to the tune of Neil Young's"Tonight's The Night"!) I mean, it would make a nice story/fantasy to say that one or two of my songs was the combination of our diverse sensibilities and backgrounds. But it simply wouldn't be true to say that, because we wrote exactly zero songs together. He wasn'ton the field of play when I wrote my songs. Those who want the fact-based story can read it here. Those who want the fantasy (probablyhigh school chums of his) can fantasize.

Don't get me wrong: I love combining diverse styles (on this album, there's reggae, Italianfolk, rap ("Make a Noise!," on "Part 2"), and other genres). But those stylistic fusions come from inside me, not from working with a collaborator.

Some people get rivalrous when you put an album out, and they spread info that ain't true.So, for the record: Bill did not write or re-writea word or a note of any of my songs, and anyone who says differently is a liar or misinformed.(And I'm choosing my words carefully here!) And anyone who believes such a lie is astonishingly gullible. Because all you'd have to do is Google up Bill's own music, posted on his own websites, to understand that he couldn't possibly have contributed a note to my work. We have opposite musical sensibilities.)

(And, by the way, if some rivalrous person is spreading bad info about my music, please contact meabout it at pliorio@aol.com so I can make sure to correct the record.)

YOU'VE WRITTEN SO MANY SONGS. HOW DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF WHEN YOU WROTE EACH ONE?

I've had a habit since 1997 of emailing

my songs to myself as soon as I've written them;

hence, almost all my songs are electronically dated

by the AOL email of my last three computers (which

I've preserved!). So there's no doubt about the

chronology of my songs and how they evolved. The

hard drive does not lie!

HOW DOES BEING DEAF IN ONE EAR AFFECT YOUR MUSIC-MAKING?

Fewer distractions.

WAS "ABOUT MYSELF" YOUR DEBUT?

Actually, I did release a 10-song cassette tape to several critics and bizzers in mid-1998 ("Combination of the Oceans" was on that one). I also recorded a one-song CD of "Ten Years Ago" in 2001. Then I released the 2004version of "About Myself" on cassette tape.

HAVE YOU PLAYED ANY OF YOUR SONGS LIVE?

No. I've never given a concert anywhere. Never even played for friends at a party. I'm not one of those guys who has been playing the bars and coffeehouses for years. What I have been doing for over 35 years is writing songs on a regular basis in the privacy of whatever apartment I've been renting. Alone. No collaborators. No bandmates. In some years, I'd come up with three songs a night.

DO ANY SONGS DATE FROM 35 YEARS AGO?

No. The oldest songs are from 1979/1980, when I first moved to Manhattan. By then, I had already been writing for 7 years. The earliest here are "If One Rainy Night," "You Know It Shows" (now being readied for "Part 2"), and "Get Tied."

HOW CAN I GET A COPY OF "75 SONGS"?

You can request it at pliorio@aol.com. I hope to offer it via various online stores in the future.

I NOTICED THE LABEL ON THE ACTUAL CD IS ATTACHED WITH SCOTCH TAPE. IS THAT HOW ALL THE CDs ARE BEING SENT OUT?

Yes. This is hand-made stuff, not mass-produced banality. If you want slick packaging and production, go buy some crap by Toto. This ain't that.

IF I'M INTERESTED IN YOUR MUSIC ON A BIZ LEVEL, WHO DO I CONTACT?

Contact me, Paul Iorio, at pliorio@aol.com. I'm not represented by an agent or manager right now, no one else is authorized to speak for me, and I own all copyrights.

I had posted MP3s of around 60 of my songs to vibecat.com, but I recently found out that vibecat.com is now defunct, and so my MP3 site is no longer. I'm now busy re-posting my MP3s to a new site -- stay tuned for details! (For now, you can hear a few of my songs online at my inactive MySpace site (www.myspace.com/paulioriosongs) or at www.cyqo.com/pauliorio.)

* * *

______________________________

RECENT RADIO AIRPLAY!

[I haven't updated this section since May, 2008, though there have been several additions to radioplaylists since then.]

On April 27, I wrote a new song, "BESIDES," which I recorded at my home studio in Berkeley, Calif., on April 28. I sent it out and am really pleasantly surprised and grateful that some people are already connecting with it.

Special thanks to KALX in Berkeley for playing "BESIDES" and "BETTER OFF BROKENHEARTED" a couple days ago (May 5).

Also, thanks to John of the String Theory radio show for playing "MEMORY LANE (IS A TWO-WAY STREET)" last month (4/7/08).

Thanks to KALX for playing my recent self-released song, "Sexually Insane," and "I'll Love You Forever (But Not in This Weather)" in March (3/6/08)!

Check out the review of my new album in the East Bay Express, posted today on the paper's website (2/29/08)!

Thanks to String Theory (a terrific radio show I'm told is associated with NPR) for playing "Combination of the Oceans" in February (2/18/08).

And thanks again to KALX for playing "Mr. Freeze is Taking Over" and "Headin' Down to the Cool Jerk" in January! (By the way, check out Marshall Stax's program on KALX; it's truly one of the most innovative in the country -- he even plays cassette tapes, if the stuff is good enough! An astonishing A&R talent, he is!)

Thanks to String Theory for playing "Combination of the Oceans" (2/18/08).

Check out my songs on London's XFM Radio website (I'm listed in the "Newest Artists" category). Here's a link: http://www.xfmuploaded.co.uk/pauliorio (it's on theirsite but not theirairwaves yet!).

Sincere thanks (again) to KALX for playing my songs "Armageddon Time" and "TheHoly Country Song" back in November!

And thanks to KALX for airing my limited-edition non-album single "The Balladof Senator Craig" a couple weeks ago and for playing another of my new singles, "Waterboardin'U.S.A."

Sincere thanks to WFMU for playing "PRETTY WOMEN AT THE FUNERAL."

Thanks a lot to KALX in Berkeley, Calif., for playing "RICH AND DUMB," the first single from the upcoming "Lime Green Celery."

Thanks to Radio Sotra in Fjell, NORWAY, for playing "YOU BRING THE LOVE."

Many thanks to FM 95.6 in Lengerich, GERMANY, for adding "MEMORY LANE (IS A TWO-WAY STREET)" to its playlists.

Thanks (again) to Rockhouse Radio in GERMANY for playing "YOU BRING THE LOVE."

And thanks a lot to CAR Radio (north of ATLANTA, Georgia) for playing "IF ONE RAINY NIGHT."

Radio playlists that feature my songs also include tracks by such recording artists as Prince, Feist, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith, Tracy Chapman, Traffic, Wilco, Johnny Cash, etc.a few of the radio playlists that've been including songs from "About Myself" and "Lime Green Celery."_______________________________________________________________

1. "Better off Brokenhearted" -- alt-country-folk. Recorded and posted a new, improved version of it on 3/30/08.(Glad I copyrighted this one in '98, as certain musician friends seem to be eyeing it hungrily!)

A combination of two songs I'd written in the late 1990s ("I asked Jesus Christ for a job on the waterfront" had been a freestanding song). I was trying for a "Grievous Angel" sort of thing, a hard alt-country-rocker.

2. "I'll Love You Forever (But Not in This Weather)"A humorous song about eternity. "The first billion years of eternity are hardest, they say..." My main influences here were Dean Friedman's "Ariel" and Sylvia Plath's "Ariel," but also the Small Faces's "Lazy Sunday" and the Kinks "Apeman." I wrote this in my apartment in Berkeley in '02/'03 and had a ball doing so!

3. "Warm Alaska Sun" -- The only song I know of about the joys of a sunshower on the way to...whereever -- in the warm Alaska sun! I thoroughly enjoy playing this one. I like how it captures the mood of being in the midst of unplanned travel, the feeling you could end up anywhere by the end of the day.

4. "Secret" -- Singled out by the East Bay Express newspaper as my best song.

I have an old tape -- one of those old-fashioned micro-cassettes -- of me coming up with this one in my apartment in Los Angeles in '96/'97 and laughing aloud as I was writing it. Inspired by both the Beatles' "Do You Want to Know A Secret?" and "A Certain Girl" with the sound of Petty and the Heartbreakers, circa '79, in mind. I finished it in '98, though I actually came up with the idea in New York in '95, after having dinner with an old girlfriend who confessed to me, confidentially, that she was a lesbian and that I could not tell anyone that secret. This version was recorded April 2008.

5. "Headin' Down to the Cool Jerk" -- A fun story song with a neat plot twist. (And that's me on drums!) I wrote this one in January 2008. Some have called it Presleyesque though I see it more in the spirit of something like "The Pina Colada Song."

6. "Time Begins to End" -- I wrote this in Berkeley between late December 2007 and early January 2008. Of all my songs, it's the most personally cathartic in that I felt so much better after writing it. Based on the very sad experience of having seen my father just before he died of cancer.

7. "Combination of the Oceans" -- A sort of psychedelic singalong! Of all my songs, this one has been ripped off in small ways more often than the others. (I'm not flattered by that, by the way.) People seem to love the part that goes, "I could show you maps of stardust and wisps of gray," and so do I.

This one came out of a crazy mood that arose from being harassed by a landlord in the New York-area in the mid-Nineties, and my feelings came out in a surreal way. I finished it in L.A. in around 1997 and put it on my very first demo tape, which I sent out in 1998 (some people still have that '98 tape).

8. "Playing With Balls" -- About the joy of playing with balls (on this round earth). No hidden agenda. I started writing this in '04/'05, but kept thinking that a song about the joys of playing sports shouldn't be as somber as I originally wrote it. So in May, 2008, I re-arranged it as a reggae tune, an arrangement I'd always had in the back of my mind. Recorded May 26, 2008.

9. "Pretty Women at the Funeral" -- One of my best songs, in my opinion. I wrote it in my apartment in Los Angeles in 1997, grabbed my tape recorder and recorded myself as I was coming up with it. Then, as I'd always do back then, I put the tape in a desk drawer and went on to write other songs. In 2003, I re-listened to that tape from 1997 for the first time since '97, and when I heard it for the first time in six years, in '03, I have to confess I just loved it.

10. "Sexually Insane" -- Hard folk, sort of Zeppelinish/Bo Diddleyish. Riff folk. Not quite as sexually explicit as Mozart's "Leck mich im Arsch" but it'll do. I wrote it on February 19, 2008.

11. "Besides" -- I'm really happy this ballad has connected with people. I wrote it on April 27, 2008, and it took only days for it to be added to radio playlists (thanks KALX!).

12. "Little Bird" -- I wrote this in 2000 after a long hike from Los Angeles to Universal City on a very warm spring day. When I climbed over the Santa Monica Mountains, I was dehydrated and saw a very little bird on the branch of a tree. And it looked like it was bursting to say hello to the whole world for the very first time! And that's how I came up with the song.

Later, I saw a flock of birds in a tree and marveled at much the flock looked like a cluster of leaves, and that's how I came up with the part that goes, "Is that a tree or just some birds..."

I first recorded it in early 2004 and then recorded it again in 2005. But I was never satisfied with either version and so re-recorded it on May 26, 2008, in a more buoyant, airborne arrangement (with a brand new bridge).

13. "Armageddon Time" -- I wrote this in October, 2007, though came up with an early version of the chorus in July, 1998. Sort of a protest song but with some neato pop overdubs!

14. "You Won't Be Burying Me Now" -- This one puts my own lyrics to a melody of a traditional Italian folk song (the lyrics are not a translation from the Italian). I know the song from a recording by Roberto Murolo, a brilliant interepreter of trad Italian folk, noted for his understated, austere delivery. (He's sort of like Italy's Tom Ze in terms of vocal approach.) Recorded May 22, 2008.

15. "Standing on the River" -- A two-part song that I wrote in the late 1990s, recorded in 2004, re-recorded in '05 and then recorded definitively (I hope) on Feb. 23, 2008.

16. "Cold Sunshine" -- I could go back to my tapes and notes and find out exactly when I wrote this one, but my best memory right now is the early 1990s (probably '92/'93), when I was living in Hoboken. I like its momentum.

17. "Mr. Freeze Is Taking Over" -- A comic book sci-fi rocker about nuclear war. Bang! Zap! Pow! I wrote it between Dec. 2007 and Jan. 2008.

18. She's Got Everything --Sort of like a Ramones ballad.

19. "Get Tied" -- Like Burt Bacharach meets the Old West. One of the first songs I wrote after moving to Manhattan in 1979 (though this one was finished in 1980). I came up with it on the roof of the Beacon in New York and included it on my earliest demo (of 1998). I recorded this version this on 2/16/08.

20. "Bluer Than You" -- "Bluer Than You" began life as a suite in around 1993, weaving together multiple parts ("She's Having an Affair," "It's Not a Dream Anymore," "25 Again," "I Fall in Love Everyday").

But I also wrote another, shorter version without the multiple parts (and had an alternate treatment called "Sometime Thing"). In 2005, I played both versions to my friend Bill Epps and asked him which he preferred, and he said he preferred the non-suite version. At the time, I agreed with him, but I'm now thinking of reviving the suite, which has an interesting unpredictability, as a bonus track for future editions of "75 Songs."

21. "I Dream By Candlelight" -- I wrote this and "Complicated Flower" on the same inspired night in 2003. Droney, dream-like.

22. "It's Kind of Cool for June" -- I penned this in the spring of 1996 in NYC. About a groom abandoned at the altar. Brill Building-esque.

23. "Better Girl" -- A merger of two songs I'd written in the late 1990s (the chorus is actually a song fragment dating back to the 1980s). People seem to enjoy the lyrics ("I drew a picture of the future in my rear-view mirror..."). Sort of like an indie-rock version of Fleetwood Mac.

24. "About Myself" -- Sort of a Song of Myself. This was on a January 1, 1994, cassette tape I made, so it's at least that old and probably a couple years older. This is a 2008 version.

25. "Death Falls Like a Sunset" -- I wrote this in almost one piece in 2005. About death (in A minor).

26. "If One Rainy Night" -- Another of my earliest songs. Written on the roof of the Beacon in New York in 1980, around a year after I first arrived in NYC.

--------------------------------------

L Y R I C S

BETTER OFF BROKENHEARTED

Music and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2005

Got more than when you startedGirl, you're better off brokenheartedGot more than when you startedGirl, you're better off brokenheartedBetter off BrokenheartedBetter off Brokenhearted

I asked Jesus Christ for a job on the waterfrontHe said take my advice and say what you really wantI asked Jesus Christ for a job on the waterfrontI asked him nice so I'd get what I really want

And he said, Got more than you started Boy, you're better off brokenheartedGot more than you startedWell, you're better off brokenheartedBetter offBrokenheartedBetter off Brokenhearted

I asked Jesus Christ for a Toyota SelicaHe said, "Don't be silly and don't let me catch yaAsking for a Toyota SelicaAsking for a job on the water front"

And he said, Got more than when you startedBoy, you're better off brokenheartedGot more than when you startedWell, you're better off brokenheartedBetter off BrokenheartedBetter off Brokenhearted

--------------

I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER (BUT NOT IN THIS WEATHER)

Music and Lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2004

I'll love you forever, but not in this weather, they sayI'll love you forever, but just not this Thursday

If it's eternity tomorrow then let's live for todayIf it's only next Tuesday, get out of the way

Eternity's so overdoneI'd rather be havin' some funEternity's so overdoneDoesn't care if you've lost or won

I'll love you forever but not in this sweater, I sayI'll love you forever whatever pre-nuptials say

If I wait until Tuesday, I'll see you in bedIf I'm waiting till Friday, I'd better off dead

Eternity's so overdoneI'd rather be havin' some funEternity's so overdoneDoesn't care if you've lost or won

I have a friend who was jipped of three decades, they sayThe first billion years of eternity are hardest to takeIf life is a bother and you don't want to be hereYou just have to hold out another forty years

Eternity's so overdone(etc.)

--------------------

WARM ALASKA SUN

Music and Lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2005

We can talk about Anchorage We could talk about SpainBut we're stuck in silver rainIn the warm Alaska sunIn the warm Alaska sun

HEADING DOWN TO THE COOL JERKMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2008

I'm headin' down to the Cool Jerk, babyHeadin' down to the Cool Jerk I'm all alone, my wife's at workI'm feelin' like a sultan TurkHeadin' down to the Cool Jerk, baby

My wife's at work, so I can do my thingAt a place that's sorta like the Bada-BingIt's got a pole and a stage and it's kind of smokyAnd tonight they're doing some nude karaoke

[chorus]

She was curvy and lean and got my attentionAnd I wanted to search her like a Google engineShe wore a mask covering her eyes and her noseBut nothing else on from her head to her toes

I slipped her a fifty and said there's plenty moreAnd she took my money and in a familiar voiceShe said, "This'll help pay for the ring you gave me"And then I realized it was my own sweet Sadie

[chorus]

She said, "What the hell are you doin' here?"I said, "I was just stoppin' by for a beer"She said, "I've been workin' undercover viceAnd I'd bust you now, 'less you take my advice"

She said, "Don't go down to the Cool Jerk, babyDon't go down to the Cool Jerk, babyWhen you're all alone, and I'm at workStop feelin' like a sultan TurkDon't go down to the Cool Jerk, babyDon't go down to the Cool Jerk, babyDon't go down to the Cool Jerk, baby

-----------------------

TIME BEGINS TO END

Music and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2008

These things seem to come in twos and threesYou're losing weight and then you're on your knees

It's your time to dieWave your arms goodbye and tell meTime begins to end in just a few

You can't understand the lassitudeYou wanna put it off a week or twoYou can make me cryWave your arms and fly awayTime begins to end in just a few

But I warned youAs I warned you nowIf I need youThen I'll miss you and how

Time begins to end in just a few

You're sleeping at the wake, you used to museYou'd rather have a warmer altitude

It's your time to dieWave your arms and fly awayTime begins to end in just a few

But I warned youAs I warn you nowIf I need youThen I'll miss you and how

Time begins to end in just a fewTime begins to end in just a fewTime begins to end in just a few

--------------------

COMBINATION OF THE OCEANS

Music and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2005

HeavenHeaven's a stateBut heaven's kind of hellish, they say

Hell, get outta my wayHell has got some heavenly grace

I could show you maps of stardust and wisps of grayI could show you what you want, girlBut that would just be in the way

They changed the combination of the oceansThey changed the doors and doorknobs of the skyThey sailed the clouds and stalled the backward motionAnd they pretend to want to tell you why

They boil the cloudsThey paint the rainThey leash the air so none of us could stay

They tamed the birdsAnd burned the skyAnd took our time so none of us could die

They changed the combination of the oceansThey changed the doors and doorknobs of the skyThey changed the clouds and stalled the backward motionAnd they pretend to want to tell you why

I could show you maps of starudst and wisps of grayI could show you what you want, girlBut that would just be in the way

Heaven, heaven's a stateHeaven's kind of hellish, they sayHell, get outta my wayHell has got some heavenly grace[repeat]

I could show you maps of stardust and wisps of gray

[above, photo by Paul Iorio.]

---------------------------

PLAYING WITH BALLSMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2005

Playing with ballsPlaying with ballsPlaying with balls

Playing wiht ballsPlaying footballPlaying baseball

Everyone I see is playing with balls, playing with ballsFather and son, I see, are throwing baseballs, throwing baseballs

Playing with ballsPlaying with ballsPlaying with balls

Playing with ballsPlaying baseballPaying the toll

On this round earth, everybody's playing with balls, playing with ballsThere's just something so fun about tossing a ball, tossing ball

Playing with ballsPlaying with ballsPlaying guitar

Playing with ballsPlaying with ballsPlaying with balls

--------------------

PRETTY WOMEN AT THE FUNERALMusic and lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2005

Widow wants to knowWhy there are Pretty women at the funeralPretty women at the funeral

Friends already know Why there arePretty women at the funeralPretty women at the funeral

Widow wonders quietlyDid you know him enough to careIs there something you're not sayingIs there a reason why you're here

At the funeralPretty women at the funeral Pretty women at the funeral

Friends won't let her knowWhy there are Pretty women at the funeral Pretty women at the funeral

Widow wonders quietlyIs there a reason why you're here?

At the funeral Pretty women at the funeralAt the funeral

------------------------

SEXUALLY INSANEMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2008

She plays spin the bottle with her wedding ringI like the way she shakes my thingShe's going down, wearing that blingShe's sexually insane

She moves her hand beneath her tanShows me the whole master planHer husband must be a lucky manShe's sexually insane

Sexually insane!Sexually insane!

All the time I used to thinkThat she didn't like to drinkBoy, I guess I had her wrongShe even swallows half the bong

Sexually insane!Sexually insane!

I never thought she had it in herTill I had up for dinnerBelieve me, she ain't no beginnerShe's sexually insane

We started eating 'round half past noonDidn't finish till a brand new moonHad dessert without a spoon She's sexually insane

All the time I used to thinkThat she'd stop before the brinkBoy, I guess I had her wrongShe had me wailing like a song

Sexually insane!Sexually insane!Sexually insane!Sexually insane!

-----------------------

BESIDESMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2008

Drawn out and wastedShe left me without saying goodbyeBut I've already tastedThe meaning of lonesome and high

Looking for a girl and looking for a world that's changedThat world aint here anymoreLooking for a girl and looking for a world that's changedThat world ain't here anymoreWell, I'm looking for a girl who's changed

What do you do when you fall in love with someone better than you?What do you do when you fall in love with someone better than you?Better girlBetter girl

----------------

ABOUT MYSELF

Music and Lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2005

About myself!

I've seen Kosygin out on 81st and 1st and that's about myselfI've seen some trouble when she's walking down the runway, and that's about myselfI've been to Zagreb, watched the midnight lights of a train that's been left behindNow I'm standing here on 46th and 7th and thinking 'bout myself

About myself!

I saw the ambulance outside of the Dakota thinking 'bout myselfI walked a narrow path on top of the volcano thinking 'bout myselfI've been to heaven on a mid-day carriage/couldn't see what I'd hope to findBut now I'm listening to the bells of the cathedral thinking 'bout myself

About myself!About myself!

Every time I talk about you, girl, I'm really talking 'bout myselfAnd everytime I talk about the things we had I talk about myselfThe world's a mirror that reflects the things about you that I love and I hold so dearSo when I'm talking 'bout you, girl, I'm really just talking 'bout myself

About myself!About myself!

[above, photo by Paul Iorio.]

-----------------------

DEATH FALLS LIKE A SUNSET

Music and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2007

Death falls like a sunsetOn everybody equallyDeath falls like a sunsetOn everybody, even me

Did you see it fall foreverOn people you'll no longer seeDid you see it fall like timber, in DecemberEvery single month, I tell you

Death falls like a sunsetOn everybody equallyDeath falls like a sunsetOn everybody, even me

Did you see it wilt the flowersIn the penitentary?Did you see it block the sunlightIt gets unlightEnjoy it every minute 'cause

Death falls, death falls

Birth comes like a sunshowerIt only comes sporadicallyBirth comes like a sunshowerIt leads to death eventually

Did you see it bloom in desertsWhere nothing is supposed to be?Did you see it die in springtimewhen you think time/will always last forever?

But death fallsBirth comesDeath fallsDeath fallsDeath falls

[above, photo by Paul Iorio]

----------------

IF ONE RAINY NIGHT

Music and Lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2005

If one rainy nightA man comes knocking on your doorPlease let him in and ask what for

And if he knows your girlSet him down for some coffee And ask him if she's still alright

And don't protest too muchYou'll give yourself awayYou still love that girlNo matter what you say

If one rainy nightA girl comes knocking on your doorPlease let her in and ask what forAnd if she is your girl Set her down for some coffeeAnd ask her if she's still alright

And don't protest too muchYou'll give yourself awayYou still love that girl No matter what they say

My new album, "75 Songs (Pt. 1)," is finally finished and is being released on Monday (June 16). See top of site for details.

---------

>June 3, 2008

A few days ago, I released a new 3-song single featuring "You Won't Be Burying Me Now," "Playing With Balls" and "Little Bird."

"You Won't Be Burying Me Now" puts my own lyrics to a melody of a traditional Italian folk song (the lyrics are not a translation from the Italian). I know the song from a recording by Roberto Murolo, a brilliant interepreter of trad Italian folk, noted for his understated, austere delivery. (He's sort of like Italy's Tom Ze in terms of vocal approach.) Recorded May 22, 2008.

I wrote the music and lyrics of "Playing With Balls" a few years ago but could never get it right in the studio. I kept thinking that a song about the joys of playing sports shouldn't be as somber as I originally wrote it, so last month I re-arranged it as a reggae tune, an arrangement I'd always had in the back of my mind. Recorded May 26, 2008.

"Little Bird" is one that I wrote in 2000 and first recorded in early 2004 and then recorded again in 2005. But I was never satisfied with either version and so re-recorded it last month in a more buoyant, airborne arrangement (with a brand new bridge). Recorded May 26, 2008.

________________________________________________

>June 1, 2008

I had posted over 60 of my songs to vibecat.com but, unfortunately, vibecat doesn't exist anymore, so I'm busy re-posting the songs to a new site.

________________________________________________

>May 18 - 23, 2008

For those of you requesting copies of "About

Myself," my first album, released in 2006, and

my second album, 2007's "Lime Green Celery"

(aka "Make a Noise!"), please hold on, because

songs from both of those albums will soon be

re-released, in re-recorded form, on a brand new

double-CD (with a third CD of b-sides) titled

"75 Songs By Paul Iorio." It will available this

summer, and you can hear many of the tracks online

now at www.vibecat.com/pauliorio.

I've already released part of the new album to

several people, and some of the tracks have

already been added to radio playlists. (Thanks to

everyone who has played them!)

With "75 Songs," I'll have absolutely nobody to blame

if it doesn't connect with listeners. All the production,

engineering, mixing and mastering will be done my me.

As has always been the case with my previous work,

I, of course, wrote all the music and lyrics of all

songs. (Not to put too fine a point on it, but not only

did I write every line of every song, I wrote every

word and aside -- and every melody, too (for better and for

worse!), just as I did on my previous albums. All revisions and

additions and subtractions and arrangements to every song are,

as they have always been, my own.) The only

element contributed by someone else is the financing,

made possible by a generous contribution from old pal

Bill Epps.

[Bill produced the "About Myself" sessions of 2005, but those

sessions were too rushed to produce anything usable; at those

'05 sessions, I brought 52 of my own songs to the studio

while Bill manned the soundboard and recorded my performances

of them in two short days. Because we didn't spend enough

time on it in '05, those '05 recordings have now been

demoted to rehearsal tapes. Anyone who sees Bill's videotape

of the '05 sessions will see that he barely had time to

adjust the microphones (and it's obvious now that the

few production suggestions he made, on around

two or three of my songs, were too hasty and ill-considered,

which is why those suggestions of his have been deleted

in the new recordings.]

The only thing delaying the new album is that I keep

coming up with new songs all the time (I wish someone

would write a self-help book on "How to

Stop Yourself From Writing Songs If You're a

Compulsive Songwriter"). My latest, "Besides," has

generated more response than I expected; and today,

I wrote a new one that I'm excited about, "You Won't

Be Burying Me Now."

So all this might take awhile. More updates later.

-----------------------

>March 31, 2008

Yesterday I finally cut a version of "Better Off

Brokenhearted" that I think works. It's already up

at the vibecat site!

------------------

>March 22, 2008

Just a note to those who know who I'm talkin' about:

I have a friend who has a habit of updating his own

old lyrics with bits of my own newly-released lyrics,

while still claiming the old date for his work.

Hence, to the unaware, he wrongly makes

it look like I was inspired by him instead

of vice versa. Not cool.

-----

>March 15, 2008

Yesterday I wrote a new song, "King Penis of Planet Zero,"

and today I recorded and posted it to the Vibecat site. I

had a lot of fun with it -- hope you enjoy it. Here

are the lyrics:

KING PENIS OF PLANET ZEROMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2008

Oh, King Penis!Oh, King Penis!Of Planet ZeroOf Planet Zero

King Penis is such a dragHe makes me shine his shoes with his ragSince he took over I have no worthNow he's ruling all of planet Earth

Oh, King PenisOh, King PenisOf Planet ZeroOf Planet Zero

King Penis makes me work for foodKing Penis makes me sing the bluesOne day I'm gonna put him in his placeBut he's protected by his man Ghostface

Ohhhhhhhhh Ahhhh Ahhhh Ohhhh Ahhhhhhhh Ahhh

King Penis and Baron ChopThey stuff their faces and feed us slopHe puts Polonium on his steakBack on Zero, he's the biggest fave

Here's the original demo (the word "Costello" refers to the fact that I later recorded some songs by Elvis Costello on the tape.

Here's one of the lyric sheets for the '98 demo:

And here's another:

I sent the demo to a few labels in '98

(here's a response I got from one):

The songs on the '98 demo, along with hundreds of

my other songs, would remain in my desk drawer

for another 6 years, until I put out another

cassette tape called "About Myself," featuring 52

of my songs, in 2004. The next year, in '05, a

friend I hadn't seen in decades, Bill Epps, stopped by

and generously agreed to fund a CD version of my

cassette tape album. And that's how that CD

came to be.

Anyway, I have a complete set of emails in my

AOL Filing Cabinet (on my previous computer)

spanning the 1997 to 2005 period that show, step

by step, how I wrote the "About Myself" album (I

always email all my lyrics to myself in order to

keep them stored; that also serves to show, through

electronic dating of the email, when I wrote

the lyrics.) Among those emails are the ones

in which I sent William my songs and song lyrics

for the first time (he didn't receive copies of

my songs until late August 2005, a couple weeks

before the recording sessions in Los Angeles, according

to the emails in my AOL Filing Cabinet, and

by then I had completely finished writing the songs).

And it's plain to see from these emails that

all my songs were in finished, final form

before William ever heard them.

I may post some of those emails next year as part

of an archival/timeline section of this website.

>January 15, 2008

I just wrote my first songs of 2008 and

recorded them last Sunday at my home studio

in Berkeley.

The songs are "Goin' Down to the Cool Jerk,"

"Time Begins to End" and "Mr. Freeze is Taking Over,"

I've put them together on a 3-song single that

I've just started sending out. (They'll also be

included on my third double-album, which I'll

release in the spring.)

Here are the CD's cover graphics and lyrics:

----------------------------------

>January 3, 2008

Happy new year everyone!

>December 2 - 15, 2007

Someone asked me the other day whether I write my

songs with musical notation. The answer to that

is an emphatic, "No!" I have never written any of

my songs using musical notation or sheet music

(in fact, I wouldn't know how to do it and, further,

sometimes I don't even know the names of the notes

I'm playing). And if there were sheet music for

my songs, I wouldn't know how to read it.

Below is a typical example of how I write out

my music; here is my own "sheet music" for my

song "It's Kind of Cool for June" (note how I

indicate bar chords by drawing their locations

on the fretboard; I know the names of some

non-bar chords). This is the only way, by

the way, my songs have ever been written in notation

(all text and changes to text were written by me):

Below is another example of "sheet music" I wrote for

one of my songs, this one for "Better Girl,"

completed in 2004 (copyrighted in '05), a year or so

before William came onboard the "About Myself" sessions.

Here're pages one and two of the song (all text and

changes to text were, again, written by me):

And here's a third example of my sheet music,

this one for "Doctor Says She's Gonna Come Home

Tonight" (when I'm not using bar chords, I can

identify basic chords like C, G and A minor by

their names). I wrote this one in the late 1990s

(all text and changes to text were written by me).

And here's how I wrote down another of

my songs, "Come on Like a Song," which

I wrote in '93 after a bad winter.

[Note: While I'm flattered that people seem to

like my line "poverty's what happens when you live

so honestly," I'm not at all flattered that

a newspaper writer in San Francisco ripped off that

line for some deadline news story he was writing

in late 2005. For the record, the only version

of this song in circulation was recorded (with that

exact line) on September 17, 2005, in Los Angeles,

after having been distributed throughout 2004 on a

discontinued cassette tape edition of "About Myself";

the newspaper story that stole my line appeared

much later.]

And here's yet another one, "You Know It Shows,"

which I wrote in the fall of 1980, when I was working

at Dell Publishing (and I've been singing it ever

since!). The song hasn't changed at all in 27 years,

except for one line -- "right through her dress" -- which

I came up with and added in June 2005 (I thought the

new line would drive home the fact that the lyric

refers to a pregnant woman; as you can see on the page below,

I added the line months later on the lyric sheet in

uncharacteristic block letters). I tended to write my

songs of '79, '80 and '81 on the roof of the Beacon in

New York, which is where I wrote this one, and it was

in some sense about a (non-pregnant) woman who I had

a crush on at the time and about how hard it was to not

show that I felt that way. (All text and changes to

text written by me.)

And another one. Of all the songs I've written,

"Little Bird" is one of the most fun to play, because

of its unadorned simplicity. This one came from

dehydration; after a very long hike through the

Santa Monica mountains to Universal City on a hot

day in the spring of 2000, I saw a very small bird

in a tree that came all the way out on a branch, as if

it were saying hello to the world for the first time.

Later, I saw a flock of birds in a tree, and I

marveled, in my dehydrated state, at how the birds

looked like a structural part of the tree. As soon

as I wrote it in 2000, I emailed the lyrics (the

same lyrics you see below) to myself -- and I

still have that email in the Pesonal Filing Cabinet

of my previous computer!

Anyway, here's my "sheet music" for it (all text and

changes to text written by me):

And yet another Paul song! This one is "Complicated

Flower," which I wrote in 2003 after seeing a flower on

Russell Street in Berkeley that was both fascinating

and contrived-looking. It looked like it had been

designed by committee but it was a real flower, a

complicated flower. Here's a picture I shot of the

actual flower that inspired the song!

And here's my "sheet music" for "Complicated

Flower" (all text and changes to text written

by -- you guessed it! -- me):

OK, here's another. It's called "Get Tied," and I hardly

needed to write down any chords because I've been singing

this one since I wrote it in 1980 in Manhattan (it was one

of the ones I wrote atop the Beacon in New York). When it

came time to record it in 2005, William kept calling it

"Get Tight" for some unknown reason -- I named it "Get Tied"

in '80 and that's been its name ever since!

I always use a tape recorder in

writing my songs and tend to keep the development

tapes so that later I (and you) can hear the evolution

of the song from its earliest incarnation to its final

form. In some cases, I can pin down not only the date

but the minute when I wrote the song because in the

background you can hear "Nightline" or another news

program as I write the song on guitar. My

producer on "About Myself," William Epps, recently told

me in a phone conversation that, after we had already

recorded my songs, he had done a post-recording notation

for some of my songs (hey, I didn't even ask him to do

it, either!). It's apparently fun for him (I bet he'd

do a notation for the Beatles's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely

Hearts Club Band" if he had the time!). But, no, I don't

write using musical notation. Never have.

By the way, Bill videotaped parts of the

"About Myself" sessions of '05, and those who

see it can see the few production suggestions he

made (those suggestions have since been discarded,

by the way!). Only part of video that is a bit

puzzling: at one point in the video, Bill obviously

misspoke, his camera rolling again, when he told

his sound engineer that "Paul wrote

two of the songs" on "About Myself"; Bill obviously

meant to say that "Paul wrote all fifty-two songs" on

"About Myself" (that's how many we were going to

record, initally). I explicitly corrected Bill about

that, on video, a minute later, saying "I wrote all fifty-two

songs, not two songs," but somehow I think my correction

wound up on the videotape cutting room floor while his mistake

ended up in the video. (I'm sure he wasn't trying to

swindle me out of part of my songwriting catalogue, which

took me most of my life to write; I think he just

misspoke. Keep in mind that it was Bill who said

that erroneous bit about "two songs" -- I didn't

say that.)

Also: as a point of contrast, here are the lyrics

of 5 songs written solely by William Epps for one

of his own albums. You can compare and contrast his work

with mine, and anyone can easily see how different our

two separate bodies of work are. Nobody smart would

ever mistake a William Epps song for a Paul Iorio song!

______________________

>November 24, 2007

Well, it's been exactly 2 years since I sent out my

music on CDs for the very first time, and in that

span, at least 9 of my songs have been added to

radio playlists in at least 3 countries. I'm extremely

appreciative of that and very pleasantly surprised,

and I want to thank all the radio people out there

who have been playing my stuff! And I hope

I'm able to come up with new material in the future

that's also right for your shows and stations.

Also: a gigantic thanks to the radio stations that

have been playing my two new songs, "Armageddon Time"

and "The Holy Country Song," in the last several days.

I hear the latter song is even causing a bit of

controversy (and I think that's a good thing!).

>November 15, 2007

Just wrote a new song on Sunday and started

releasing it a couple days ago. It's called

"The Holy Country Song" and its lyrics are

posted below.

---

>November 5, 2007

I've written and recorded several non-album

singles in the past few week, so I'm now

collecting them for a limited-edition

second-disc of "Lime Green Celery."

Yesterday I recorded yet another new song,

"Warm Docking at the Shrine," a multi-parter

that I'm just now sending out.

Last week's single, "Waterboardin' U.S.A.," has

already seen some radio play -- and I couldn't

be more thankful to those who've aired it!

>October 19, 2007

I'm coming up with lots of new songs that

don't have anything to do with the new

album. Must be the jalapenos!

"In the Moodlight" and "Forgotten by Name"

are in gestation. "Warm Docking at the Shrine,"

a multi-part thing, is almost finished.

----------------------

>October 16, 2007

Just released a new single to radio, "Chasin' You,"

from the album. Am surprised people are responding to

this one more than to some of the others, but they are,

and so I'm sending it out seperately.

Here's the cover art:

-------------------------

>September 4, 2007

Over the Labor Day weekend I recorded two

new original songs that aren't on the new

album, and they are: "Drunk Driving Music"

and "Murder on Harmony Lane" (lyrics are

posted in the lyrics section of this website).

P.S. -- I recently heard a rumor that I

was actually the writer behind some of the songs of

my brother, Jay Iorio (who has a music career that

is completely independent of mine). Not true. Jay

writes his own songs, and I write

my own songs, and we don't collaborate

at all or share any material. (In fact, the

last songs of his I've heard are the 12 he

self-released back in 2000.) By the way, if anyone

out there hears that rumor, please fee free to

contact me at pliorio@aol.com to let me know

who the source of it is (so I can have a little

talk with that source!).

---------------------

>August 13, 2007

"Lime Green Celery" has just been released. A

lot of people have already requested copies and

I'm trying to send them out as fast as

possible.

Anyway, here some info about the 22 songs on the CD:

"(The Overwhelming Weight of) the Water Blue Sky" -- The title came to me on the way back from grocery shopping, and I wrote the lyric on the back of a Safeway receipt dated October 21, 2006 (see below). As I carried home my groceries, this line went throughmy head: "When the overwhelming weight of the water blue sky comes crashing down." For months, all I had was the chorus, and then a chord progression emerged for the verses, and lyrics emerged from the melody.

"You, Walking Away" -- I've always had fun playing this one and wrote it with a certainfemale vocalist in mind. Reminds me of the first cool day of fall. I wrote it around 2002.

"Rich and Dumb" -- Originally folk rap that started "Smart and poor won't open any doors," though the chorus has remained the same. Circa 2003.

If I Thought 'bout Getting Around: For a decade or so, I had the musical phrasing/melody/shape of the chorus but had no words for it, so (as I always do) I let the words emerge from the ooze, always favoring sound over sense. I wrote much of this one in the 1990s, when I first came up with "You Bring the Love" (from "About Myself"). A roots rocker.

It's Good for the Roses:I wrote this after being robbed at gunpoint one afternoon on my way to a Lucinda Williams concert in San Francisco in June 2005. I like the tension in this one. Definitely influenced by Bruce Springsteen.

Last Night's Moon:This is the only song I've heard about a moon that lingers into the next day (and the relationship that was attached to that moon the night before). Sort of CCRish. (And regarding those sound effects in the intro: I was trying to overdub a wolf howling but it ended up sounding enigmatic, so I kept it, but might not in future editions.)

Doncha SleepIt may sound pretentious to say this but it's factually true: I woke up one morning with the chorus of this song fully formed in my head, so I grabbed my cassette recorder and sang it on tape before it disappeared.

And that's generally how I write; songs come to me and I immediately grab a tape recorder and recordthem on tapes like these:

Make a Noise! Folk rap. Couldn't find any drums so I used the fretboard for scratch effect.

This SkullInspired by Shakespeare's gravediggers in "Hamlet." Written in the summer of 2006 when my dad was dying and I was suddenly reading lots of Shakespeare.

Somebody's Lover I think this is one of the best melodies I've written.Because of the chord changes, it's difficult for me to play this one but somehow I got it right on the take used for this album.

Long Story ShortBrief.

Just Tell Her You Love Her"If you really wanna get rid of her, just tell her you love her" goes the lyrics. "I Don't Believe You"esque. I wrote this one in 2003 in my apartment and had a lot of fun coming up with the chorus. I put the rough draft on tape but came thisclose to losing the tape.

Things Denied in YouthI wrote the original version of this in 1981 in New York City, and it was one of the songs I wrote in my first three years in New York, from '79 to '81 (among them "If One Rainy Night," "You Know It Shows," "Get Tied," "Chasin' You," part of "Drowning Man," etc.). I also used the title phrase in a story I wrote for the East Village Eye newspaper in 1984 (see below).

I Wanna Die (I Really Wanna Die)Written in 2006.

Chasin' YouAnother one I wrote in my first few years in New York.

I Guess You Heard About the PainOriginally intended for "About Myself."

Drowning ManI wrote the chorus at the Beacon in New York in 1980 ("You don't save a drowning man/when he'sreached the shore/'cause when he's reached theshore/he don't need you anymore") but wasn't able to attach it to a suitable verse and arrangement until I was walking down a Berkeley street in 2007 and started spontaneously humming the melody of the verse.

Lime Green CeleryThis funk fragment also came to me on a walk through Berekely in 2007.

Madness (in Room 6J2)This one sort of rolled off my tongue in one piece.

Cold SunshineAnother one that was marked for "About Myself" but didn't make it on the album. I wrote it in the early 1990s.

Death Falls Like a SunsetWrote this in '05.

Up in the Puzzle TreePuzzle Trees actually exist and their branches sort of resemble verticle mazes. It always puts me in a good mood to sing this one.

Drunk Drivin Music Released as a 2-song single; may be includedin some future editions of the album. I wrotethe chorus years ago, in 2003, and always loved the concept, but didn't flesh it out until Labor Day weekend 2007. A bonus track on some copies of "Lime Green Celery."

Murder on Harmony LaneReleased as a 2-song single. I wrote this one in 2004. After several hours of playing guitar in my apartment, I started strumming a chord progression thatbecame what I originally called "Born Clean," which then evolved naturally into the "murderon Harmony Way" chorus. Put it on a tape in my closet for three years, until Labor Day weekend 2007, when I prepared it for release. A bonus track on some copies of "Lime GreenCelery."

All music and lyrics by Paul Iorio. Copyright 2007.Guitar, vocals, sound effects: Paul Iorio. Producedby Paul Iorio. Recorded at Paul's home studio in Berkeley, Calif., August 11 and 12, 2007. (Thanksto Bill Epps for invaluable advice and support!)

I intended to include four of these songs (tracks 16, 17, 20 and 21) on my first album, "About Myself," but didn't have room for them.]

________________________________

Lyrics of the "Lime Green Celery" CD (plus non-album singles)

THE HOLY COUNTRY SONGMusic and lyrics by Paul Iorio

copyright 2007

Don't you hate all of those country songsSaying, "I am the way and the light"

That "Jesus Christ is comin'And everything'll be alright"

They say, "The Lord is my savior/Won't you do me a favor, and get me into heaven tonight"

I heard them thankin' JesusOn the CMAs last night

I heard them thankin' JesusOn the CMAs last night

They talk about resurrection like it was an erectionNatural selection ain't right

"Don't talk that evolution/Creation just took one night

The Ten Commandments make you a helluva man/And I believe the ones I like

Though shall not go a killin'Except when you're havin' a fight"

I heard them thankin' JesusAt the CMAs last night

They can't have some nook Because some boring book with badly translated text

Says you can't commit adultery Or have recreational sex

Well, Jesus Christ put up a helluva fight Takin' heat for what I done

Enabling bad behavior So I'm forgiven for my fun

I heard them thankin' JesusAt the CMAs last night

I heard them thankin' Jesus At the CMAs last night

* * * *

THIS SKULLMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2007

Walking through the graveyardThe way I sometimes doThinking 'bout life and when it's through

Kicking a rock and found it was part of

A skullIt used to make a noiseThis skull It used to have a voiceThis skullIt used to have a tongueI wanna be the last one to turn out the lightsThis skull

Walking 'neath the trees and falling leavesAppreciating things I'd never seen

Shouting while I can before I become

This skullIt used to make a noiseThis skullIt used have a voiceI wanna be the last one to turn out the lightsThis skullIt used to make a noiseThis skullIt used have a voiceI wanna be the last one to turn out the lightsThis skullThis skullThis skull

__________________________________

LAST NIGHT'S MOONMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2007

Last night's moon still lingers todayBut that still makes it last night's moon

Last night's moon still lingers todayBut that still makes it last night's moon

We broke up last nightIn the light of that moonThe crescent's still up in the sky todayBut that don't make it anything but

Last night's moon still lingers todayBut that still makes it last night's moon

Your lies were so clear In the light of that moonThe moon's still up in the sky todayBut that don't make it anything but

Last night's moon still lingers todayBut that still makes it last night's moon

________________________________________

RICH AND DUMB(music and lyrics by Paul Iorio)copyright 2007

Well, my job's a boreIt gives me hypnotismAnd he's just the bossBecause of nepotismHe got his job by working for his dadBut that's not half of what's making me mad

(What you say?)

Rich and dumb(you gotta work work work work)For the rich and dumb(you gotta work work work work)Rich and dumb(you gotta work work work work)You gotta work for the rich and dumb

Right out of school I had to work as a clerk'Cause I didn't have the money not to work for that jerkHe's on vacation now But when he gets back I'm gonna sing him this song and that's a fact

(what you say?!)

Rich and dumb(you gotta work work work work)For the rich and dumb(you gotta work work work work)Rich and dumb(you gotta work work work work)You gotta work for the rich and dumb

I'm gonna quit my job and start my own businessI've got myself a blog and with you as a witnessI'm gonna turn the tide and right some wrongsSo I can find a way to stop singing this song

(Everybody's sayin')

Rich and dumb(you gotta work work work work)For the rich and dumb(you gotta work work work work)Rich and dumb(you gotta work work work work)You gotta work for the rich and dumb

__________________________________________

JUST TELL HER YOU LOVE HERMusic and lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2007

Saw my love just the other dayTried to find a way to break up with herCouldn't bear to break her heartHad to find just the right words

I told my love a lovely lieSomething so she'd walk out that doorAnd then I looked her in the eyeSaid these magic words

If you really wanna get rid of herIf you don't wanna see her no moreJust tell her you love herJust tell her you careJust tell her you love herIf you don't wanna see her no more

It works better than fare-the-wellTake it from me, I knowIt works better than go to hellKill 'em with kindness and snow

She hasn't phoned since I told her soLooks at me funny and sweetShe figures she's got me in the bagDoesn't have to try things on me

If you really wanna get rid of herIf you don't wanna see her no moreJust tell her you love herJust tell her you careJust tell her you love herIf you don't wanna see her no more

Just tell her Just tell her(If you don't wanna see her no more)

Just tell her Just tell her(If you don't wanna see her no more)

_______________________________________

YOU, WALKING AWAYMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2007

You, walking awayWalking like I can't see the way you feelYou're feeling todayBut if you want to stay, I say ok

You, walking awayWalking like I can't see the way mascara runs down your faceBut if you just don't place, I say ok

You, walking awayWalking like I can't read the way you feelYou can't tell me thatg it's realIf your love is like a wheelShe said ok

You, walking to meWalking like I can see you finally see what you mean to meAnd if you want to play with me today

Walking awayWalking like I can't see the way you feelYou're feeling todayAnd if you want to stay I'll say ok

I'm glad I saw the towers 'fore they tumbled downThey tumbled down Right to the groundI'm glad I saw the towers 'fore they tumbled downThey tumbled all over my world

I'm glad I saw the world before the world blew upThe world blew upThe world blew upI'm glad I saw the world before the world blew upI've been all over this world (The world blew up)I've been all over this world(The world blew up, yeah, the world blew up)--------------------------------------

FOREVER GOT AWAY LAST NIGHT

Music and Lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2005

Forever got away last nightForever up and left this morning However we got in a fightShe didn't give me any warning

Took a subwayAnd a boxcarCaught the last flightForever got away last nightForever got away last night

Whatever you say about last nightRemember you're alone this morningIn the 'frigerator light I bet you regret all your moaning

Bottlecap road on a summer's dayIn that cafe where the Nikolodeon playsWhen the balalaika plays on Brogan StreetYou get crazy with your poison, you get quick on your feet

If I could have just one more dayI'd find some way, girl, to make you stayAnd if I could have just one more tryI'd make you stay, I'd show you why

Do you rememberDrinking down Tequila moneyEverybody watch you sashayAnd you know it showsAnd you know it shows

Summer cottage loving fishingPinocle on Central BayAnd you know it showsRight through her dress it shows

If I could have just one more dayI'd find some way, girl, to make you stayAnd if I could have just one more tryI'd make you stay, I'd show you why

Do you rememberDrinking down Tequila moneyEverybody watch you sashayAnd you know it showsAnd you know it shows

Summer cottage loving fishingPinocle on Central BayAnd you know it showsAnd you know it showsRight through her dress it showsYou know it shows_________________________

YESTERDAY, I HEARD WE NEVER TOUCHED

Music and Lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2005

I -- can't believe a word they sayYou -- doesn't matter anyway

Yesterday, I heard we never touched No matter what you sayThey say it's just a crush And after all those daysAnd nightsI heard we never touchedIt's strange to hear we never touched

I -- still remember what we didYou -- spend your life denying it

Yesterday, I heard we never touchedYou know that nothing staysI heard I wasn't muchAnd after all those daysAnd nightsI heard we never touchedIt's strange to hear we never touched

Sounds like you're describing someone elseSounds like you don't even believe it yourself

I -- guess I imagined everythingYou and all the love you used to bring

Yesterday, I heard we never touched No matter what you sayThey say it's just a crush And after all those daysAnd nights, I heard we never touchedIt's strange to hear we never ---

Yesterday, I heard we never touchedYou know that nothing staysI heard I wasn't muchAnd after all those daysAnd nightsI heard we never touchedIt's strange to hear we never touchedLast night, I heard we never touched

________________________________

STREETLIGHTMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2005

Down at the end of the streetlightI can see my lover clearI can see my lover hereLike before

Down at the end of the streetlightI can see my neighborhoodI can see you like I shouldLike before

La la la la la laLike before

Down at the end of the streetlightI can see my lover clearI can see my lover hereLike before

Down at the end of the streetlightI can see my neighborhoodI can see you like I shouldLike before

La la la la la laLa la la la la laLike before

Down at the end of the streetlightLa la la La la laLike before

Down at the end of the streetlightLa La la La la la Like before

(variations on this to end)__________________________

LIFE IS A WINNOWINGMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2005

She left with the car, she left me dryShe didn't leave a reason why"Two loves don't make a wrong," she wroteShe left me with this goodbye note

(It said)Life is a winnowing, a winnowing awayLife is a winnowing awayWhat you don't lose they try to take awayLife is a winnowing away

I met her on the InternetShoulda known just what I'd getHooked her up with my best friendThat's when things began to end

Life is a winnowing, a winnowing awayLife is a winnowing awayWhat you don't lose they try to take awayLife is a winnowing away

I built a wall of sandThe tide came inIt washed away the wallI watched; you went away

I tracked her down, I found my carBut haven't found our love so farShe was sleeping when I left noteYou can guess just what I wrote

Life is a winnowing, a winnowing awayLife is a winnowing awayWhat you don't lose they try to take awayLife is a winnowing away

Winnowing, a winnowing, a winnowing awayWinnowing, a winnowing, a winnowing awayWinnowing, a winnowing, a winnowing away________________________

WORST BEST THING

Music and Lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2005

I once was lost but now I'm bound I couldn't find my aroundI couldn't find my aroundI once was lost but now I'm bound

You're the worst best thing to happen to meThe worst best thing for meThe worst best thing to happen to me The worst best thing for me

I used to have a lot friendsBut all those friends they had to endThey had to end because my friendsWere not my friends when we began

You're the worst best thing to happen to meThe worst best thing for meThe worst best thing to happen to meThe worst best thing for me

I think about my single yearsAnd I was single there for yearsThey made me laugh, they made me fearBut now they're gone because you're here

Only shuttered windowsChilling Broadway rainFeels like another winterStarting again in May

Remember how you told me that to lose somebody winsAnd ending's just the way we begin again

But if you leave today, I missed the early warning signsGirl, you know the wayThe door aint hard to findBut don't you come on like a songDon't you come on like a song

Only shattered windowsBad November stormThought I had you figuredThough you had be warned

We parked the car and walked awhile And watched the frozen treesYou said, "Poverty's what happens When you live so honestly"

But if you leave todayI missed the early warning signsGirl, you know the wayThe door aint hard to findBut don't you come on like a songDon't you come on like a song

I can't even miss you if you won't walk out that doorThe past is seeping through the cracksBut the light won't last, the door won't stop the noise

But don't you come on like a songDon't you come on like a song-----------------------------------

DO-WHATCHA-WANNA-CAN-DOMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2005

How you change a river when the river won't turn?How you change a fire when the fire won't burn?I know it's up to you

And I'll do whatcha-wanna-can-doYes, I'll do whatcha-wanna-can-doI'll do-whatcha-wanna-can-doI want you

Wah wah what you want what you wanna do anywayWah wah what you want what you wanna do anyway

How you change a tire with a brokedown jack?How you train a monkey when he's on your back?I know it's up to youI know that he's hurting you everywhereWah wah what you want what you wanna do anywayWah Wah what you want what you wanna do anyway

How you change a twenty when you've got a ten?How you change a lover when she's just a friend?I know it's up to you

And I'll do whatcha-wanna-can-doYes, I'll do whatcha-wanna-can-doI'll do-whatcha-wanna-can-doI want you

Wah wah whatcha want what you wanna do anywayWah wah wahtcha want what you wanna do anyway---------------------------------------------------

HELLO, BAD EXPLANATION

Music and Lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2004

Hello, bad explanationI think I've met you beforeOnce at the bottom of a bottle of whiskeyAnother time on the floor

Hello, bad explanationI'm sure I'll see you againYou've been with me so longSometimes you're my only friend

You come aroundI see you when I've been cheatingYou come aroundI see you when I'm in courtYou come aroundWhenever I say

Hello, bad explanationI think I've met you beforeOnce at the bottom of a bottle of whiskeyAnother time on the floor

You come aroundI see you when it's the game pointYou come around I see when you when I'm in loveYou come aroundWhenever I say

Split the graySplit the graySplit the grayWith the blue Divide it all by red

I don't think any gray day's permanentI don't think blue skies are the point of itWe can't see all the light that's 'round our headThere aint no color without light and color's heaven sent

Split the graySplit the graySplit the grayWith the blueDivide it all by red

I've been out looking for the brightest blueI caught a glimpse but it was only youDidn't know that gray was blue until this dayAll those things you put away are put away to stay

Split the gray Split the graySplit the gray With the blueDivide it all by red(repeat)

NOT THE REAL THING

Music and Lyrics by Paul Ioriocopyright 2005

I'm loving your memory these daysI'm loving all the pictures that I've saved

But not the real thing, babyBut not the real thingBut not the real thing, babyBut not the real thing

I never like the present, it's too tenseI'd like to put the past behind a fence

Not the real thing, babyAnything but the real thingNot the real thing, babyAnything but the real thing

Whatever the future brings, it brings along the pastI like the future but they say it doesn't last

I'm loving all the memories we've changedI'm loving that the pictures don't complain

Not the real thing, babyAnything but the real thingNot the real thing, babyAnything but the real thing-----------------------------------------------

GUMSHOE TONIGHTMusic and lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2005

Gumshoe tonightGumshoe tonight

I was tracking Castro when he wasn't so bigChe Guevara told me where he's really been hidI was told that Hoffa was thrown off a boatI've always known the person who is really Deep Throat

So put me in a trenchcoat, I'm a gumshoe tonightI know all the things that people try hard to hideGimme a trenchcoat and a bottle of boozeI can tell you things you don't know about youGumshoe tonightGumshoe tonight

Now don't get me wrong, I'm no conspiracy buffI don't think that Oswald worked with anyone elseI could tell you secrets but I've sworn not to tellThe people out in Langley would give me such hell

So put me in a trenchcoat, I'm a gumshoe tonightI know all the things that people try hard to hideGimme a trenchcoat and a bottle of boozeI can tell you things you don't know about youGumshoe tonightGumshoe tonightGumshoe tonight--------------------------------------------------------

In a world where you've gotta wait for girlsIn a world where you've gotta wait for girls(And they're well worth waiting for)

Wait for girlsAs they put on their Air and they put on their pearlsWait for girlsWait for girls

In a world where you've got to wait for girlsIn a world where you've got to wait for girls

Sometimes you wait nine months timeShe's on your mind all the timeYou've got to wait for girls

Wait for girlsAs they put on their airs and they put on their boysWait for girls Wait for girls

Wait for girlsWait for --

In a world where you've gotta wait for girlsIn a world where you've gotta wait for girls

Sometimes you wait nine months timeShe's on your mind all the time---------------------------------------------------------

OLD FASHIONED MAFIA TOWN

Music and Lyrics by Paul IorioCopyright 2005

Love that graftPut 'im on staffTake that bribe Join our side

Wearin' that false carin' like a crownIt's just an old-fashioned mafia town

Hates the pillThou shalt not killFriday aggressionSunday confession

It's omerta so don't no one make a soundIt's just an old-fashioned mafia town

He thinks "Sopranos" is the way you make a callHe keeps his powder clean 'Cause you can't fight city hallDon't curse in front of the ladiesSmoke cigars and sit in the shadieIt's hard work carrying that boodayYeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Throw it in the bayLook the other wayDrive a TowncarPass the state bar(with a little help)

chorus-------------------------------------------------

LOOSE NOTES ABOUT SOME OF THE SONGS ON

"75 SONGS (PART 2)" AND "75 SONGS (PART 3)."(please excuse the numbering!)1. MEMORY LANE (IS A TWO-WAY STREET)Already being played on alternative radio in Germany, "Memory Lane" is a two-part pop song I wrote in 2002 and 2003. The last half came to me during a late-night visit to the World Trade Center site in late 2003, when I saw for the first time the devastation of the area first-hand. Before moving to California, I had worked in the twin towers and across the street from them at One Liberty Plaza for years, so it was, for a time, my workplace neighborhood, where I toiled and played and pulled all-nighters and dated girlfriends, etc. And I was truly horrified to see it so utterly destroyed. As I looked at the ruined area, I began thinking "where is Memory Lane?" and started humming a melody that became the line "You take a left where the dead have lain/You shake your fist at who's to blame." Sort of like "Rubber Soul" meets Doc Watson meets Glenn Tilbrook meets Radiohead.

2. DOCTOR SAYS SHE'S GONNA COME HOME TONIGHTI wrote this in the late Nineties and was going to leave this off the album, but producer William Epps voted to keep it on the album -- and I think William was proved right about leaving this one one the CD. Yeah, it's a bit of a tear-jerker (I don't think William liked my non-verbal "woh-woh"s initially), but I like how it captures the hopeful feeling of anticipating the release of a loved one from the hospital after a long period of recovery. "We'll pick her up later on today..." goes the lyric. A bit James Taylorish. Hmm. Maybe we should've left it off the CD after all!

3. YOU BRING THE LOVEA guilty pleasure. A sort of it's-a-Friday-night-come-on-over tune, like a Roger Miller single of the mid-1960s, or a Buffett song of the Seventies. I've always thought it was too dorky to record, though I've always enjoyed playing it. When I brought it to the studio, I was all ready to discard it until William (again!) insisted I record it, and he was (again) right; it recently was added to playlists on a German radio station.

4. I GET YOU, BABEThis one reminds me of hiking the hills near my apartment in Berkeley, and I wrote it there in 2003. The title was half a play on the Sonny and Cher song and half thinking about a former girlfriend who nobody seemed to really understand.

7. TEN YEARS AGOI wrote this one on the way back from a Kate Winslet movie on Fairfax Ave. in Los Angeles in 1998. It was around 11pm, the weather was crisp, and I was taking a 45-minute walk back to my apartment near La Brea Ave. The chorus began churning in me, along with the hook "If they ever did before," and I had to keep it going in my head all the way home because I didn't have a tape recorder on me. When I got home, near midnight, it came tumbling out, bridge and all. By 1AM, it was completely written, and I remember playing it over and over again into the early hours.

9. LIFE IS A WINNOWINGI wrote it in one fell swoop one night in 1998 in L.A. and liked the way the word "winnowing" became so elastic in the chorus. (And by the way, the lyric "I watched; you went away" is often mistaken for "I watched you went away" -- though the latter fits the country voice I was aiming for.)

that and also wrote a new middle eight. But I'm still not quite sure whether I prefer this pared down version over the suite.

12. EASTERN WESTERNOne of the key songs on the album, but the version here is sloppy (two wrong chords). Still, I like its atmosphere and its central guitar riff and that vocal hook ("I don't knowww!!").

13. YOU KNOW IT SHOWSI wrote this in the Fall of 1980 in my apartment in Manhattan, and it's one of the best songs I wrote between 1973 and 1982 (along with "Do-Whatcha-Wanna-Can-Do" and "Get Tied").

16. COMPLICATED FLOWERIn 2003, I saw a flower on Russell Street in Berkeley that was both fascinating and contrived-looking. It looked like it had been designed by committee but it was a real flower, a complicated flower. Some see a sly hidden meaning. I like the way the melody of the verse varies each time out.

18. DO-WHATCHA-WANNA-CAN-DOThe earliest song on this album, written in Manhattan in 1979 when I was 21. Inspired a bit by Steve Forbert's "Alive on Arrival." I think it would have airplay potential if the last 20 seconds of "wha wha whatcha wants" had been edited out or faded out. Still a fun bit of pop.

19. SPLIT THE GRAYA lyric about color. Gray. Blue. Red. Sort of Stevie Wonderish. "There is no color without light..." "I went out looking for the brightest blue..."

23. WRONG DRESS TONIGHTMore of a fragment than a song. The only lyric in the world that says, "Baby, you're wearing the wrong dress tonight."

25. FORTY POUNDS OF PAINTo me, this one feels a bit like a cross-country trip. In retrospect, I probably should've called it "Forty Tons of Pain" but I liked the sound of "Forty Pounds" better. Written in 1995 and 2003.

26. STREETLIGHTEvery time I play this, it's almost like an aerobic work-out. And it changes with each performance.

31. BAYONET SKYWhoishly angry rock, on acoustic guitar. I wrote this in L.A. in '98.

32. WORST BEST THINGA married man looks back at his single days. (Not from experience; never been married, though

33. THE 405A guy runs into his girlfriend on the 405 freeway at an inopportune moment. Also written in L.A. in '98.

34. COME ON LIKE A SONGI wrote this in 1993 in Hoboken and still enjoy playing it. "We parked the car and walked awhile and watched the frozen trees/You said, 'poverty's what happens when you live so honestly.'"

40. OLD-FASHIONED MAFIA TOWNI wrote this in N.J. in 1995 as a sort of humorous tune about a subject nobody writes songs about, and it's amazing how many people thing it's about their own hometown! Updated it in 2005.

42. NOT THE REAL THINGI wrote this at a time when it seemed that performers were singing so many songs -- some of them excellent -- about "the real thing" or "the real one" or "keepin' it real" that the "real" concept had become a bit of a cliche in pop music. So I went in the other direction and penned a tune about a guy who enjoyed photos and memories of people and places more than the actual people and places.

43. THE WORLD BLEW UPNice rhythm and concept. Written in Berkeley in 2005. ___________________________________________________________________________________

5. "Up in the Puzzle Tree" -- quirky pop song.10. "You Know It Shows" -- I wrote this many years ago and still play it a lot.

13. "Ten Years Ago" -- A lot of people seem to like this one. I've just posted a new version recorded this morning (2/26/08).

14. "This Skull" -- based on the gravediggers's part of "King Lear."

15. "If I Thought 'bout Gettin' Around" -- roots pop.

16. "The Overwhelming Weight of the Water Blue Sky" -- I like the way it takes a whole different direction around two minutes in.

17. "Forty Pounds of Pain" -- starts with a whisper, ends with a roar.

18. "You Bring the Love" -- has already had some airplay in Norway and Germany.

20. "Life is a Winnowing" -- alt-folk country.

21. "Complicated Flower" -- everyone seems to like this one.

22. "The Ballad of Senator Craig" -- a song about the aroma of toilets and how that puts the Senator in a lovin' mood.

23. "Warm Docking At the Shrine" -- in '98, I wrote the title phrase in an article for a newspaper and knew it implied a terific song; in the fall of 2007, I wrote this song, a multi-part suite (I also wrote a very different "Warm Docking" in '98). Not my best song, but it has its parts. (By the way, the newspaper article I wrote was about an event at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A., hence the title; my song is about something else altogether.)

27. "Do-Whatcha-Wanna-Can-Do" -- Pure pop. And, yes, that's me on drums (and on guitar and vocals). I wrote this in the early 1980s, but didn't record it until 2004 (on cassette) and 2005 (on CD). The only time the producer of my first album, Bill Epps, ever suggested a line for any of my songs was when he suggested I change the last line of this song to "How you change a rubber when she's just a friend" (my lyric was and is "How you change a lover when she's just a friend"). Needless to say, I declined Bill's suggestion! I recorded this version at my studio (2/12/08).

29. "Memory Lane (Is a Two-Way Street)" -- I wrote this after seeing the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and wondering, as I walked around the World Trade Center area, where I had worked for years, where memory lane had gone.

30. "Come on Like a Song" -- I wrote this in the early Nineties, released it on cassette tape in '98, released it for the first time on CD in '06 and am just now putting out the MP3 version!

31. "Split the Gray" -- I like this one. The lyrics are simply a description of an abstract painting: "split the gray with the blue, divide it all by red."

33. "Eastern Western" -- I wrote it years ago but didn't record it until 2004 (on cassette tape) and then again in 2005 (on CD). I must say it felt like a triumphant moment when I finished the final take at Paramount Studios in L.A. in '05; I walked out of the iso booth after I'd finished recording it and everyone was all smiles and my producer William was playing my guitar riff on his keyboards even though the session was already over (his keyboards were not on the recording). I distinctly remember wondering why William was playing my guitar riff on the keyboards even though the session was over (I think he had his camera running and was photographing himself at the keyboards). Unfortunately, the final take had a couple glaring tech errors, making it unusable. To be honest, I've pretty much demoted most of the '05 masters of the Paramount sessions to rehearsal tapes, due to tech errors. I've re-recorded almost all of those songs and recorded this version of "Eastern Western" this morning in Berkeley (2/17/08).

38. "Rich and Dumb" -- I wrote this in 2007. "You've gotta work work work for the rich and dumb."

39. "Somebody's Lover" -- I like the melody of this one a lot.

40. "Just Tell Her You Love Her" -- "if you really want to get rid of her," goes the lyric.

42. "Streetlight" -- If performed well, it can get aerobic. This version was recorded this morning (2/25).

47. "Bayonet Sky" -- Whosihly angry tune!

48. "Old Fashioned Mafia Town" -- Finally, a version that captures exactly the way I originally wrote it (my producer mistakenly left out the song fragment that opens the song in the version he produced in '05). When I first performed this for my friend Bill Epps, at my apartment in early '05, he laughed at the line "with a little help" and otherwise enjoyed it, so I knew it might connect with some listeners. This is the version I performed for him. (I originally had a brief voice-over bit at the end, which I deleted in '05, and then put back in in '08, and then took out again a couple days ago.)

49. "I Get You, Babe" -- I wrote this one after a vigorous hike in the nearby east bay hills and mountains, and the lyric came out whole (I pictured the melody as drifting smoke, which is how I came up with the first verse). Title a play on the Sonny and Cher tune.

51. "The Holy Country Song" -- very irreverent alt-country; inspired by "The Vatican Rag."

52. "Make a Noise!" -- folk rap.

53. "Chasin' You" -- acoustica about obsessive love. The producer of my first album disliked this one, but I've enjoyed playing it for decades. (By the way, throughout pop history, there have been a lot of hits with titles like "Missin' You" (John Waite), "Lovin' You" (Minnie Ripperton), "Leavin' You" (both Bad Company and Stevie Ray Vaughan), etc., but I don't think there's ever been a "Chasin' You" yet!)

54. "Dontcha Sleep" -- the chorus came to me fully formed justas I woke up from a dream one morning.

59. "Murder on Harmony Way" -- this one starts quiet but picks up nice velocity.

60. "Chasing a Rainbow" -- I just wrote and recorded this one several hours ago; a somewhat slight song. Not quite satisfied with my vocal, so I might not release it on CD until I fix it. (3/14/08)

62. "King Penis of Planet Zero" -- I wrote this song yesterday and recorded it earlier today (3/15/08). It's futuristic campy folk-rock with sci-fi sound effects and is lots of fun. (I'll be replacing the drum track in the next couple days.) Lyrics posted below. (As usual, I produced, performed and wrote it!)

63. "I Don't Know If I Know You No More" -- This song is less than an hour old, and I did a quick recording of it so everyone can enjoy it. (3/22/08)